As of December 21, 2021 11:54 a.m.
In the fight against the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, teacher associations have brought the extension of the Christmas holidays and renewed distance teaching into play. Even politicians do not want to rule out a single step in advance.
In view of the spreading omicron variant of the coronavirus, teacher associations are not ruling out an extension of the Christmas holidays or the short-term reintroduction of distance learning.
“Distance learning for a limited time after the Christmas holidays can be a possibility to make the spread of the Omikron variant more difficult,” said the chairman of the Education and Science Union (GEW), Maike Finnern, the editorial network Germany. But that must remain an exception, which is solely due to the current situation. Furthermore, additional personnel capacities would have to be provided as a matter of priority.
“Need a uniform approach”
The German Teachers’ Association takes a similar stance. “If the number of infections goes up massively during the Christmas holidays due to Omikron, vacation extensions or renewed distance learning cannot be ruled out,” said President Heinz-Peter Meidinger. “Such a step should not be taken in isolation, but only in conjunction with a general lockdown or further social restrictions on contact.”
It is wrong to completely exclude schools from a larger catalog of measures because a highly contagious virus variant will soon encounter a large number of contacts there. “We need a uniform approach by the federal and state governments based on parameters such as age-dependent incidences and state vaccination rates,” he demanded before the Corona summit.
At the meeting, the prime ministerial group wants to decide on further contact restrictions in order to slow down the spread of Omikron. According to several government representatives, a lockdown as in the previous corona waves is not planned for the time being.
Minister of Education against school closings
Federal education minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger wants to “absolutely avoid” new nationwide school closings. Children and young people have already carried a great burden in the corona pandemic. “The learning gaps must not increase,” said the FDP politician. “As long as we can still go to the football stadium, no school is allowed to close.”
Federal Justice Minister Marco Buschmann sees it similarly. “School closings can only be the last resort,” he told the Funke media group. However, given the dynamic situation, it is not advisable to “exclude an instrument once and for all,” says Buschmann.
He referred to the traffic light government’s booster campaign. With more than a million vaccinations daily, it is “the most successful vaccination campaign in Europe”. At the same time, the Minister of Justice admitted that Omikron would bring new burdens to the hospitals and that many employees in the critical infrastructure could get sick at the same time.
Söder demands a clear signal for compulsory vaccination
Bavaria’s Minister of Health, Klaus Holetschek, also warned against avoiding certain tightening of measures from the outset. “At the moment, if you’re honest, you can’t rule anything out in the long run,” said the CSU politician on Deutschlandfunk. Nobody knows what will happen to Germany with the dreaded Omikron wave.
“This virus has great impact,” continued Holetschek. Nevertheless, he thinks nothing of making reserve decisions. It is always possible for the federal government and the states to meet at short notice and to advise on other instruments to contain the pandemic.
Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder, on the other hand, again turned his attention to the vaccinations. “We urgently need a quick signal that the vaccination is compulsory,” said Söder ARD morning magazine. If the Expert Council speaks of a dramatic situation, but at the same time only talks about new contact restrictions, this does not go together. The federal and state governments must clarify today what is really necessary to counter a new corona wave with the Omikron variant.